The rest of the journey toward the ruined city lasted a few more hours. With Dain leading the way, the group moved swiftly through the treacherous terrain, avoiding most dangers and only pausing occasionally to fend off small packs of Fire Hounds.
With the addition of Dain's strength, these skirmishes became almost effortless. The creatures stood no chance against the students. Klein's debuffs left them vulnerable, allowing Vale and Dain to dispatch each group in minutes, without taking any damage.
In fact, Vale didn't even need to rely on his Vine Bind ability. With Dain handling half the enemies, he could focus entirely on wielding his new sword, Hellfire, cutting through foes with ease.
Soon enough, the group stood before the sight Dain had described.
Ahead of them lay a ruined city—its skyline fractured by the remains of once-towering structures. Some stood partially collapsed, leaning precariously as if a single gust of wind might finish what time had started. Others had crumbled entirely, leaving behind jagged foundations and piles of rubble. The city stretched far beyond their sight, swallowed by the distant haze.
The buildings were constructed from dark brick, their surfaces cracked and worn by the passage of time. Darkwood beams, once sturdy supports, had long since rotted, their splintered remains jutting from broken walls like skeletal remains. The air carried the faint scent of decay, mingled with the dry, dusty breeze that swept through the deserted streets.
Vale paused, his thoughts swirling with questions. Were these structures built at the same time as the tower he had seen earlier? If so, why had that tower remained untouched while this city lay in ruin?
However, these questions would have to remain unanswered, as the group's attention was wrenched away by something near the ruins of a collapsed building.
Scattered across the ground lay the twisted corpses of creatures unlike anything Vale had faced before. Their emaciated frames were stretched unnaturally, skin clinging tightly to sinew and bone. Their legs, ending in jagged hooves, bent at unnatural angles. Their upper bodies, grotesquely human-like, were too long and too thin, their flesh riddled with cracks. Their goat-like heads bore splintered horns that jutted skyward, their lifeless eyes wide with something between fury and agony.
A rancid stench clung to the air, thick with rot and old blood.
Vale's expression darkened.
These things bore an unsettling resemblance to the four-armed devil he had encountered before—only smaller, significantly less sickening, yet still disturbing.
"Those creatures are called Vatyrs", Dain said, his expression void of the usual grin.
"I have faced one before…they're not easy to deal with," He added.
The group lingered for a moment, their eyes fixed on the mutilated corpses strewn across the ground.
Vale knelt, running his fingers through a dark streak of blood stretching across the dirt. It was still warm.
"Fresh"
He was about to ask what could have slaughtered so many of these monsters—if even Dain had struggled with a single one—but the answer was already clear.
There was only one creature in these ruins capable of such carnage.
The four-armed fiend.
Their investigation, however, was quickly interrupted.
From behind one of the half-standing brick walls, two Vatyrs emerged. The creatures shrieked upon seeing the group. Whether it was the sight of their fallen kin or the presence of humans that enraged them, they couldn't tell, but one thing was certain—nothing but fury emanated from the monsters as they charged toward them.
Their speed was terrifying. Before they knew it, the monsters were already on them. Klein, who was standing the closest, stumbled as he tried to quickly create distance, falling on his back before casting a debuff, hoping for his companions to reach him in time.
Vale's sword collided with the spear held by one of the monsters.
Even with the debuff casted, the creature held strong under the precise strike of his sword.
Dain too wasted no time, already catching the spear of the second attacker, but before he could rip the weapon away from his opponent, the monster's hoove moved, kicking the student in the stomach, sending him tumbling a couple of feet backwards.
Sparks flew as Vale unleashed more attacks toward the monster, their weapons continued to collide. The quality of his newly acquired weapon was truly astonishing. He could tell that the spear would not last much longer, trembling under the weight of his weapon.
Dain was having a harder time. Without the debuff, the monster's raw strength was almost equal to his own, but the speed was where the difference was. Thanks to its hooves, the creature moved faster than he could hope for. Unable to dodge a couple of thrusts, the spear tore some of his flesh, more and more cuts appearing on his body as the fight went on.
Seeing it, Klein decided to switch the target of the debuff.
Just as the monster was about to dodge another of Dain's attacks, the sudden impact of the debuff took its strength away, unable to move as fast as it used to, it failed to dodge the menacing strike flying toward its face.
Dain slammed the creature to the ground, not allowing it to get up and continued his onslaught, sending strike after strike, his gauntlets ringing against the monster's bones.
The lifeless body of the creature lay in the small crater created by the force of Dain's strikes; nothing but a pulp of blood and shattered bones remained.
Dain had only stopped as the emanating heat from behind drew his attention away.
There, he saw Vale holding a sword high above his head, its blade covered by orange flame. With a swift cut, it tore the monster's flesh in half, two sides colliding lifelessly to the ground.
[ You have slain a B-Rank, Awakened Monster, Vatyr ]